WataMote Episode 08
is the eighth episode of the anime adaption of WataMote. The episode was written by Sawako Hirabayashi and directed by Jin Tamamura. It aired in Japan on August 26, 2013. Synopsis As Tomoko eats breakfast, her mother tells of her cousin Kii's annual summer visit and tell her to clean her room in preparation. A panicked Tomoko experiences a flashback of her boasting to Kii the year previously about her having a boyfriend she met in cram school who is already a year older and in high school. Kii excitedly eats up her boast that he only desires to fool around with her, but she wants to wait until she reaches high school. Returning to present time, Tomoko regrets her stories. She rushes upstairs, looks at herself in the mirror, and realizes nothing about her suggests she has a boyfriend or even leaves the house. She realizes she could once fool the "puppy-eyed Kii-chan" who idolized her, but Kii is now a middle school student who should be capable of detecting simple lies. Tomoko imagines Kii quickly seeing through her lies that she and her "boyfriend" "do it every day."Tomoko resolves that she must become "enough of a high school bitch" to convince "a middle schooler," as the scene transitions into the opening titles. Kii sits next to her mother in their car eagerly asking how soon they will arrive. Kii looks forward to Tomoko's "stories." Meanwhile, Tomoko concludes that to look like a "bitch" she would need advice from one, so she calls her best friend Yū Naruse. Yū, however, is busy going to the beach with her school friends. Tomoko feigns the she, too, is "busy," and after she hangs up she inwardly denounces beaches as a "gathering of perverts showing skin in public," while she imagines Yū frollicking. Tomoko resolves to rely on herself. Her first order of business is to "get some bitch-like clothes!" She proceeds to a clothing store but feels intimidates by all of the other girls shopping. She notices some elementary school girls dressing the way she wants. She follows their lead in shopping. However, looking in the mirror, she feels she is missing "something" to truly appear a "bitch." She suddenly gives herself a hickey on her left arm. She then imagines herself covered in hickies impressing Kii with her relationship with her "boyfriend." Even in Tomoko's imagination, Kii thinks that it is "her virginity" that is talking! As Kii patiently waits in traffic in her mother's car, Tomoko tries to give herself hickies. She finds the marks disappear nearly as fast as she makes them. She also realizes she cannot suck on her own neck! Her mother conveniently enters to vacuum her room. Dramatically, Tomoko offers to do it herself. She immediately applies the vacuum to herself to create perfectly circular "hickies." Tomoko goes to town on herself until her mother returns to notice the marks all over her. As in any case where a parent "walks in on" a teenager, her mother is aghast as the idea of her daughter using a vacuum on herself while Tomoko is too embarrassed to explain why. As her mother scolds her, Tomoko loses it and screams back at her. Without changing her expression, Tomoko's mother raises her hand and the scene shifts to the outside as we hear the sound of a slap. The scene shifts to her mother welcoming Kii to their home. Kii eagerly asks where onēsan (Big Sister) is, and Mrs. Kuroki looks away embarrassed. The scene shifts to Tomoko sporting a red hand-print on her left cheek. Kii points to her, and Tomoko assumes she means all of the circular marks she has which she tells Kii are "called 'hickies.'" Sweating, Kii says she means something else. The scene shifts to them walking outside. Tomoko has a bandage on her cheek, and she inwardly congratulates herself on fooling Kii with whatever her story was. For her part, Kii thanks her for taking her to the library for her summer homework. Kii then announces that after they return to Tomoko's home, she wants to hear lots of stories about Tomoko's boyfriend. As they entered the library, Tomoko chooses to wait in the lobby. Sitting alone, Tomoko agonizes about what stories she can tell Kii about her non-existent boyfriend. A boy buys a drink from the vending machine and recognizes her. As he sits across from her, Tomoko is overwhelmed by the possibility that he is "hitting" on her. The boy explains that he is one of the boys she met when they were stranded in the rain. Inwardly, Tomoko recalls him as abandoning her; however, he then asks her if she used the umbrella he left her. As she transforms into her mind into an anime heroine and her bandage peels off, she wonders if the now anime hero likes her. She really does not hear what he says. Her first response is to stammeringly offer to pay for the umbrella. When he demurs, she is left without an idea as to what to do. He asks for her name and give his: "Kosaka." She stammers her name. He calls her "Momoko-chan." This sends Tomoko inwardly into excitement: he not only calls her by a nickname, he uses "chan!" She continues their conversation stammering. She learns she lives nearby, he is an upperclassman who has college entrance exams . . . and then she is lost for words! Awkward silence passes. He finally rises to resume his studies but gives the polite "see you later." Tomoko, bathed in anime light and sparkles, wonders if that means "tomorrow, the next day, and every day after?" Her mind quickly advances their romance to a sparkly scene that defies description beyond a reference to the Gallery, a falling rose petal, and Tomoko's satisfied moan. Kii, having found her book, wakes her from her fantasy. Back in Tomoko's room that evening, as Kii works on her homework, Tomoko stares upward obviously smitten: anime hearts rise from her like bubbles. Kii mentions she noticed the boy Tomoko talked to in the library. Excited, blushing, her "puppy eyes" wide, Kii asks if he is Tomoko's boyfriend. Tomoko says he is. As Kii clutches her hands in excitement, Tomoko inwardly rationalizes that it will not be a lie if they do date in the future. Kii then asks about details from her stories: was he the one fooling around on her! In a panic, Tomoko shifts the subject to Kii's homework. The scene shifts to "The Next Day," which is raining heavily. Both Tomoko and Kii stand stunned as Kosaka walks with a girl. As the organ music swells, Kii asks if Tomoko is okay with him walking with another girl, the scene slowly constricts as Tomoko tries to claim they have an "open" relationship. The scene shifts directly to the rather famous scene of Tomoko in the library bathroom rhythmically pulling on toilet paper with a stunned smile. As she does this, Kii waits dutifully outside. She feels sad for Tomoko. She then confronts Kosaka with an "あの！" "Hey!" as the advertisement break starts. After the break, Tomoko washes herself and slowly rationalizes that if Kosaka has a girlfriend, she can talk to him normally, become his friend, and at least brag to Yū that she is aquainted with an older guy. Feeling better, she walks out of the bathroom to see Kii talking to Kosaka. She hears Kii directly, but politely, tell him she thinks it is wrong for him to be with another girl if he is going out with Tomoko. Kosaka is naturally confused, and Kii continues to suggest that he is happy if he can simply use Tomoko sexually. Tomoko finally approaches and stops Kii. She asks Kii to step away for a few minutes while she talks to him. The scene focuses on some books with the titles, Couples Therapy, How to Maintain a Sense of Distance, and What is Love? Kii is revealed to be reading one. Shifting back to Kosaka and Tomoko, when he asks her what is going on, Tomoko, inwardly, concludes that she can only do one thing. Impatient, Kii returns to see Tomoko performing a dogeza. A stunned Kii stands in stunned silence in anime ''snow. The scene shifts to the term ''oneechan (お姉ちゃん) on a black background as Kii speaks the title off-screen. Tomoko returns looking devastated, but inwardly, she is excited: "He just smiled and forgave me." She finds Kii and tries to spin a tale that she dumped him. Kii slowly turns and looks at her with a an expression that would make anime serial killers consider a career move into chartered accountancy. To Tomoko's questions, Kii gives only the flat "別に” (betsuni) which conveys that she is not particularly concerned with what she saw despite the obvious evidence to the contrary. As home, reading manga together, Tomoko notices that Kii's stare has not changed. She offers to take Kii somewhere "nice" on her "treat." Kii only repeats the phrase in a monotone. The next day brings them to the Tanaka Shop: "Snacks & Groceries." Kii repeats the phrase "somewhere nice" to herself. Tomoko expansively offers to buy Kii snacks which Kii, inwardly, recognizes costs about ¥100 (≅$1.00). Tomoko draws Kii's attention to a number of young kids playing a card game. Stammering a bit, she points to the previous year's ranking where a "Queen" (クィーン) held the first rank. Sweating, she reveals that she is the "Queen." Some of the boys immediately recognize her. Inwardly, Kii is surprised that Tomoko played with little kids even as a third year in middle school. She wonders if she did so because she is "nice." As boys beg to play her, Tomoko takes on a regal attitude by only agreeing to play "ranked" players. Kii is surprised to find how much the young kids admire her. Tomoko asks for the highest ranked player: the husky Yotchan. The animation converts to a game-play motif with Yotchan's skill listed. His weight is the highest. Tomoko eagerly opens her shirt revealing a card holder, draws her pack, and engages. During the dramatically rendered play, Yotchan slowly gains the upper hand. Watching, Kii wonders if she did something "really mean" to Tomoko by being so cold to her. Tomoko appears on the verge of losing to the classic anime gasps from the onlooking kids. One announces that the Queen always draws a strong card when in trouble. Kii sees Tomoko drop her hand, a card fall from her sleeve into her hand which she then pretends to draw. Naturally, the card results in her victory. As slams the card down, and the anime reminds viewers not to cheat, the kids chant "Queen!" Kii seems embarrassed as tears form in her eyes: "She cheated just to beat a kid in a game." As Kii silently sits on a bench outside of the store, Tomoko produces a bag of snacks. Stammering, Tomoko asks if she looked "cool," and she admits that she wanted to show off a bit to Kii. Understanding this, Kii's inward view of Tomoko is rehabilitated in glorioius anime fashion. The scene shifts to the outside of the Kuroki home. Mrs. Kuroki tells Kii that her mother is there to pick her up. Mrs. Kuroki reminds Kii that they will see her again on New Year's. Kii approaches Tomoko close and tells her to visit her home next because she wants "to do something for you, too!" As Kii "glows" in anime briliance, Tomoko agrees. As they drive away, Kii's mother asks her if she had fun with Tomoko. Kii affirms that Tomoko is "really cute." Her mother finds that description surprising, but Kii continues that she will have to be nicer to Tomoko from now on. Lazing in front of the television, Tomoko wonders if she imagined that Kii stopped looking at her with the "eyes of a puppy," but "with the gentle eyes of someone looking at an abandoned puppy." The standard Ending Theme shows that Tomoko's phone initially has the game Sympathy Deity Chaos Kii-chan. The cartoony Tomoki complains that he did not get to see Kii since he was away at training camp. When he asks if she has grown, Tomoko responds that she has grown up in several ways. When Tomoki asks if something happened, Tomoko turns and starts to fade as she observes that Summer Break is almost over. Characters In order of appearance *Tomoko Kuroki *Mrs. Kuroki *Yū Naruse *Kii *Tomoko's Aunt (Kii's mother) *Kosaka *Yotchan Adapted From This episode is adapted from Chapters 14, 15, and 16 Referbacks *Kosaka is the boy from Episode 3, and his name is revealed in this episode. Trivia *"Bitch": Tomoko refers to her best friend Yū as a "bitch" and even aspires to be one. Spoken as "bicch(i)"--ビッチ--in Japanese with the terminal "i" suppressed, this is a recognized slang in Japanese. Unlike in its Western source, in Japan a "bitch" is more a girl who is cool and very popular and experienced with guys rather than a mean, snobbish, and hated girl. *'Tanaka Shop Card Game Winner's Ranking' preserved for Science!: **1st: Queen **2nd: Takashi **3rd: Yūji **4th: Mitsuru **5th: Seiya Cultural References *Tomoko performs the dogeza (土下座) a formal bow for abject apology. *Puzzle and Dragons parody (Sympathy Deity Chaos Kii-chan) *Magic: The Gathering Memorable Moments *Tomoko has the large pink toy she wins in the manga. *Tomoko and a roll of toilet paper. *Kii with scary eyes. Quotes *"The scent of virginity all over me. . ." – Tomoko *"That's totally her virginity talking." – Kii in Tomoko's imagination *''"Best to learn how to be a bitch from a bitch!" – Tomoko *"Relying on others only brings unnecessary pain." – Tomoko *"For a household appliance, you're quite the bitch maker!" – Tomoko *"A-Are you satisfied as long as you get to fool around with Onee-chan?" – Kii ''to Kosaka *"That's a hot guy for you! He just smiled and forgave me. Even if his smile was a little twitchy." – Tomoko *''Anime ''Captions: **"Don't cheat at card games." **"Would you rather not cheat, or not be human?" **"Seriously, do not cheat." **"Cheating at card games is prohibited. Please enjoy the game by the rules." Gallery TomokoPinkSkirt.jpg|Tomoko's "slut clothes" Tomoko looking at herself in the mirror.png|Tomoko wanting to look like a slut for Kii but looking in the mirror to see otherwise. Tomoko thinking Kii caught her in the act.png|Tomoko thinking Kii caught her in the act of her love stories. WatamoteVacuum1.png WatamoteVacuum2.png Tomoko thinking she deceived Kii.png|Tomoko thinking she deceived Kii about her love stories. Tomoko_Failure_to_Communicate_E8.png|What . . . we've got here is . . . Failure . . . to Communicate! Mrs_Tomoki_Embarrassed_E8.png|Mrs. Kuroki contemplates her daughter's appearance. Tomoko concept.png|Tomoko's reaction to Kosaka as she realized he left the umbrella. Tomoko_Imagination_E8.png|''Anime'' sparkles, two glasses of wine, one cigarette, a man's watch, a single rose petal falls, and Tomoko moans. Have we forgotten any of the "subtext?" Toilet-3.gif|Tomoko reacts calmly to seeing her Imaginary Boyfriend with Another Girl Kii_Loses_Her_Innocence.png|Kii loses her innocence . . . of her oneesan. Kii's_Look_E8.png|Kii's Look When Kii discovers Tomoko is the Queen.png|When Kii discovers Tomoko is the Queen of cards. Tomoko feeling distraught for Kii involving herself in her lie.png|Tomoko feeling distraught for Kii involving herself in her lie Sympathy Kii-Chan E8.png|Slight alteration of the Ending Credit sequence. Navigation Category:Episodes